Hey all... today, while trying to start the sentra, a burning smell came through the air vents. Then the car stopped trying to turn over. We popped the hood and found this.

Here is another angle

See the melted black wire? If you're still wondering where this is, it's on the engine harness by the intake tube connecting to the throttle body. In the back, you should see the brake booster.

The car is a B13 Sentra.. of course.. GA16DE... I'm turning to you guys. I don't even know what it is or what it does or what may have caused the wire to melt. We're going to take it in to a shop to have them check it out, but I'd like some help with it before I take it in. Have any of you guys ever seen this before? What is it? What causes it? What would it take to fix this? Any idea what it would cost? Any takers? It looks kinda bad. The car won't start. No noise, no clicking, no nothing. Here are a couple of close ups:

Thanks in advance for any help.... any advice would be greatly appreciated...

Yea just pull that part out and try to run jumper wires, make sure they're thick enough. Also, just a though, by the looks of it you may want to replace your fuel filter.

LOL... would you believe that's filter is only a year old? It's my bro's car and he never cleans the engine bay. How it get's that dirty is beyond me.

Thanks for the help guys... but any idea what could have caused it? Making the repair on the wire is fairly easy... I'm the son of an electrician.... but what caused it is more my concern... what's to say it's not going to happen again... ya know? Wouldn't wanna make the repair if it's just goin' to happen again.... I wonder if it has anything to do with the starter... I replaced that a couple of months ago.... i need to trace the lines today... rain finally let up....

if you do ever find out the problem let me know. Right now my poor car is in a parking lot with my window partway down. Could really use the help. Hope you can just rewire no new harness for me thank you. Please update me on progress.

if you do ever find out the problem let me know. my e-mail is wheredipark@hotmail.com. Right now my poor car is in a parking lot with my window partway down. Could really use the help. Hope you can just rewire no new harness for me thank you. Please update me on progress.

harness schmarness...if you repair the wire CORRECTLY where it was messed up, it will work everytime...theres nothin wrong with thte harness itself..its the wirings fault...

After thinking this one through a bit, I've decided to let a pro look at it. I took the car to Harrison's Auto Electric here in town. They've got an awesome reputation. I've worked with many a wire.... and I just didn't feel comfortable repairing the wire without understanding the cause. Also, they told me that the object on the end of the wires is some sort of diode. He didn't know what it belonged to off hand. I'll let ya'll know what happens....

That's a diode on the end. It's fried. The wire right there and down the harness... fried. Damage to other wires. The plug for the diode... fried. The short in the wire was traced to behind the engine where there was major chaffing, a kink, and exposed wire. How that got there... no idea...

Total Cost: $280

After looking at all the damage, I'd rather pay to get it fixed.... expecially since the plug for the diode is fried and the problem is behind the engine... it'd be a PITA trying to fab something to connect the diode to the harness... I hate that. And I hate trying to solder wire in those locations. So they're going to straighten out the kink, repair all the damaged wires, and fab up a connector for a new diode....

hope this helps anyone that's had the same issue... Hey 91sentra... did you figure out what caused your problem?

That's a diode on the end. It's fried. The wire right there and down the harness... fried. Damage to other wires. The plug for the diode... fried. The short in the wire was traced to behind the engine where there was major chaffing, a kink, and exposed wire. How that got there... no idea...

Total Cost: $280

After looking at all the damage, I'd rather pay to get it fixed.... expecially since the plug for the diode is fried and the problem is behind the engine... it'd be a PITA trying to fab something to connect the diode to the harness... I hate that. And I hate trying to solder wire in those locations. So they're going to straighten out the kink, repair all the damaged wires, and fab up a connector for a new diode....

hope this helps anyone that's had the same issue... Hey 91sentra... did you figure out what caused your problem?

Well I decided to take my car to Wagley Creek Auto and they would look at it for free because we're friends with them. They would then give an estimate on the cost. They looked it over quickly and said they could just splice a fuse connector or something and rewire it for about $120! Good price though and they do awesome work too.the car goes in tomorrow and should be back by Sunday or Monday. Matrix021 thanks for the info, it helped alot and hope it helps others too.